"How many minutes did I play? It seemed way, way, way less than that. Eighteen minutes? Come on, man. I can play 18 minutes with my eyes closed and with a 100-pound truck on my back. It's a bad feeling, man. I'm wondering what they rushed me back for? For that? It's a bad time for me mentally.

"I am just trying to get through it without starting a whole bunch of nonsense," Iverson said, after initiating the conversation about his playing time. "I'm looking at the big picture. If I vent my frustration then it's like, given who I am, I'll be the one everybody points the finger at. I am just going to try to laugh to stop from crying."

Couple days later:

"I'm in a position now that I've never been in my whole life," Iverson said. "It's harder than I thought it would be. With the back injury, I have to sit out at the start, then go in, then sit again. It's tough to really get going. I take my hat off to the guys who can come off the bench and be effective. It's tough for me. I'm struggling with it.

"I'd rather retire before I do this again," Iverson said. "I can't be effective playing this way. I'm not used to it. It's tough for me both mentally and physically."

Comical, don't you think? Surely Larry wouldn't want him. Yeah, Charlotte could use scoring, but I don't know that he actually helps you score more points at this stage in his career. If they could somehow add Redd or someone like that, then I think they become a pretty respectable team.